By Josh Furman
They say that April showers bring May Flowers, but it’s our crazy Spring that has covered plants in blossoms and caused vegetables and herbs to bolt sooner than expected. The flavors of the season are quickly passing us by, so take the opportunity to use the blooms in some flavorful infusions. You can really mix and match to your taste preferences, but here are a few ideas:

 
Chive Blossom Vinegar- This beautiful magenta vinegar is a great flavor enhancer in salad dressings. 

Citizen scientists and experts join forces to inventory species at the UW Botanic Gardens BioBlitz!

By Josh Furman

This is a great blueprint for a Kimchi that can be made throughout the growing season. A more traditional Kimchi can be made with napa cabbage and daikon radish, but the recipe is incredibly flexible, and allows you to try whatever ingredients you find in your CSA box or at the farmers market. Napa cabbage can replace bok choy, green onions can replace garlic scapes, all radish/no radish, all carrot/no carrot, throw in some kohlrabi….the opportunities are endless! 

Tom Hinckley no doubt kept his much younger graduate students challenged to  keep up as he climbed to over 7000′ on Snowshoe Mountain in the North Cascades. It was there he chose to conduct research on the effects of environmental stress on three species of native trees.
Hinckley needed that energy as he served both as Director for the UW Botanic Gardens’ Center for Urban Horticulture (1998-2004),  and as researcher, teacher and mentor at the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, where he is now emeritus professor. 

1)   Ostrya carpinifolia                Hop Hornbeam

This small-to-medium-sized tree (40-50’) is native to southern Europe and southwestern Asia.
The common name refers to the fruit which resembles the fruit of Humulus (Hops).
Ostrya is from Greek, meaning “bone-like” in reference to the trees dense hard wood.
Located north of East Foster Island Road, east of the Broadmoor entrance.

2)  Picea mariana ‘Doumetii’                Doumet Black Spruce

This selection of Picea mariana is a popular slow-growing shrub with blue green needles and a dense conical growth habit. 

Happy Mother’s Day!
1)  Philadelphus coronarius

Native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, this shrub is located within the Sorbus Collection. It is perhaps the best-known species of mock orange in gardens because of its sweet smell. The fragrance of its flowers is pleasing out-of-doors, but may become too strong if the plants are numerous or near sitting room windows.
Philadelphus is a member of the plant family, Hydrangeaceae. 

Jessica Moskowitz is a librarian at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens.  Most days you will see Jessica at the Reference desk, doing research or providing answers to gardening questions.
Jessica moved to Seattle from the Southwest to attend the University of Washington, earning her Masters in Library and Information Science in 2010.  As an undergraduate, Jessica began working at the Natural Sciences Library inside of the Suzzallo-Allen Library on the main campus.   

The United States is facing an epidemic shortage of farmers. Among the challenges to meet the rising demand for organic products that are healthy for both people and the planet is the need for new organic farmers and entrepreneurs. The Future Organic Farmer Grant Fund supports the next generation of organic producers through small grants that support organic education from kindergarten through the end of college
If you are a student that is passionate about organic farming you may qualify for one of CCOF’s 30 $2,500 higher and vocational education scholarships that are available to students who are focused on studying organic agriculture.! 

The exquisite flower buds on this North American native shrub look like dots of frosting on a decorated cake.

Heidi volunteers at the Hyde Herbarium, working with pressed plants and the plant database.  She holds a PhD in archaeology, specializing in paleoethnobotany–the study of plant remains from archaeological digs.  She spent many years at the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, where she was also a science educator and creator of an ethnobotany garden and webpage. 
“I love to organize things,” says Lennstrom, “so working with the seven cabinets of duplicate specimens at the Herbarium is perfect for me!”
Heidi carefully identifies which of the specimens are duplicates, confirms they have been entered into the Botanic Garden website and  then determines which ones are kept and which ones need to be shared with other herbaria.